November 2006

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

We have the web-based RefWorks here at the U of C, and are in the middle of a big marketing campaign for it. It's pretty slick, but if you don't have it at your school (or, gasp! don't go to school), what are you to do? Lorcan Dempsy points to a long list of suggestions for building bibliographies at LifeHacker. I love it when academia and real life mix! :-)

This is certainly not a new resource, but it's one I keep misplacing, so I'm sticking it here where I know I'll be able to find it again :-) It's a two-page PDF chart that addresses the following criteria in helping students determine if a journal is scholarly or not: Appearance, Content, and Publising (with examples): Scholarly Journals, Trade Publications, and Popular Magazines.

Just a short article describing how they put together a flash tutorial to teach some basic boolean concepts (specifically, AND), and how well the students found it worked. A couple of cherry-picked quotes from the article (students responding to whether they preferred learning this content online or in a traditional classroom): "The majority of responses indicated that students would rather learn by taking the tutorial than by attending a class or asking a librarian for help." "a tutorial is less confronting than a librarian or classroom, this is private and enjoyable." "One student commented that "you can learn at your own pace whenever you like"." And these were traditional students, not DE students.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

OK, there will only be one more post referencing my SirsiDynix Institute presentation on Screencasting; I'll let you know when the actual session recording is available to both watch and hear. Right now the mp3 is available; of course you'll be missing the demos I showed.

The real purpose of this post is to wrap-up with the Q&A session. At the end I was only able to answer about three of the questions before running out of time. I promised I'd answer the rest on my blog, and I've finally gotten around to that. Here you go. Feel free to chime in with clarifications and corrections if you've got 'em!

Q: How would doing screencasts differ from a PowerPoint series of screen captures? A: There are a number of ways the two differ, but it also depends on what you're trying to show, IMHO. The primary advantages of screencasts include: inclusion of audio, ability to output to a web-friendly format, ease of creation (turn on the software and let it capture everything you do), ability to make the product interactive with click zones and quizzes, and of course the ability to capture something happening with live motion. Can a PPT get the job done? Of course, just as a static web page with screen shots can get the job done. I believe screencasts can better demonstrate many features, and basically make for a more dynamic and engaging viewing/learning experience. There are plenty of software packages that will allow ppt to be output to flash, including narration. I just don't find them as flexible as the screencasting packages.

Q: How does screencasting differ from, for example, a recorded session in the WebEx software? A: Screencasting allows you a lot more control over what you're going to show, while WebEx, or Elluminate, or LiveMeeting (which is what the SirsiDynix Institute uses) is great for capturing a group meeting. The meeting packages record everything that happens, with no chance for editing. They also, as far as I know, output to one format only, while screencasts can be output to flash, or to formats more suitable for other devices/platforms. Screencasting allows one to correct mistakes, to add examples after the initial capture, and to include interactivity to better engage the audience.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: These tutorials take a fair amount of time to create and update (thanks to constant vendor screen changes) - does he find people actually watch them - without being forced to do so by teachers A: Yes, I do, though my server doesn't provide any statistics. I point out the tutorials during orientation sessions, and as mentioned, provide links to them when answering student questions. If you keep them short enough, they really don't take that long to update.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What format are the movies in? Mpegs? Swf? A: All the movies I showed (which I understand several participants were unable to see through LiveMeeting) were SWF flash files. This is what I highly recommend for web-delivery.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What is 'scram(?)' compliance (discussed w/slide on interactivity) A: SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Mode, and it's mostly over my head. The reason I mentioned it is that it appears to be an important requirement in US-based Distance Education programs. According to Wikipedia, "in 2004 the US Dept. of Defense mandated that all its e-learning purchases must conform to SCORM standards." Here's a "one-minute SCORM overview for anyone". Still over my head ;-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Will the slides from this presentation be archived? I'd like to share them with a colleague who deals with distance education. A: yes, the slides themselves appear at the end of my links post.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Isn't use of audio disruptive when played in library environments? (We have enough trouble with cell phones...) A: I suppose it might be, but you could allow folks to use their own headphones, or provide a set for them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Two questions: how long does it usually take to learn one of these programs...How long does it take to create one of these screencasts..about how long? A: That depends, of course, on how technically proficient one is, and how much detail one wants to put in to a production. In ascending order, easiest to hardest to learn, I would say Camtasia Studio, Qarbon ViewletBuilder, Adobe Captivate. If you're at all comfortable messing around, I think you should be able to produce a quality short screencast after about 30-45 minutes of exploring the software for the very first time. That assumes you're simply capturing (with or without audio) and producing the resulting screencast. If you want to add more features, such as annotations, highlights, etc, you'll have to budget more time to learning how these features work in your product of choice. As for how long it takes to create one - I'm going to say it's about a 10:1 ratio. If you know your software and have a good idea what you want to demonstrate, you should be able to whip out a 3-minute screencast in about 30 minutes. Probably less. I originally put 5:1 ratio, but thought 15 minutes sounded too short. I usually screw around trying out new ideas, so it's hard to say. Definitely no more than 10:1. I'm rambling. I'll stop.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I've had problems with resolution - often the screen capture (using Camtasia) is not very clear. What do you recommend? A: I'm not sure, as I haven't run in to that problem. Make sure, if possible, that your output size matches the size of the screen you captured. Scaling up or down from the initial capture is likely to make the screen a little blurry. There are options you can fiddle with in the Production Wizard of Camtasia; assuming you're outputting to Flash, make sure you haven't set JPEG compression to low quality somehow. I believe I use the defaults, but that'd be a place to check.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Which software works on Apple? A: Nothing as a 100% complete package I'm afraid, though see my links post for some suggestions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Are you recommending the use of AVI and MOV files? A: Not for web-delivery. I recommend SWF Flash files. This reduces file size, and ensures that almost nobody will have to worry about installing a plug-in player.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do you ensure that the screencasts are visible to users at their point of need? I'm thinking about people actually being _inside_ the catalog or database when they run into trouble, beyond our actual websites. Any other ideas on advertisement/placement of screencasts? A: Great question, to which there's no perfect answer. If you have a lot of control over your catalog, you may be able to insert links to screencasts in relevant locations, or at least include these links in the help pages. Even better would be to be able to provide the appropriate link on the relevant error page, so if a title search results in zero hits, you could show them a link to a tutorial that briefly explains how to do an effective title search. For the databases, unless the vendors inserted links for you, the only way I can think (and recommend) is to include the link(s) to the tutorials right next to the links to enter the database.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How would you choose between stop-motion or video? what is the diff and how do I know which I would want to use? A: I can't think of a time when one option would always be superior over the other. In fact most applications go the full motion video capture route, and that, I think, is usually the way to go. It may be possible to use the stop-motion packages to create a screencast that is absolutely minimalist in file size; you'd simply choose to capture only the screens that must absolutely be shown, and allow the program to create the animation of the mouse cursor. That'd be an interesting experiment to see if the same project would be significantly smaller if created using the stop-motion approach. Otherwise, it's simply a matter of preference for the authoring package, I think.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Which one of the three software has audio/recording features? A: All of them. ViewletBuilder only allows you to add it after the screen captures. Camtasia Studio and Captivate both give you the choice of recording audio while you capture your screens, or after the fact. With ViewletBuilder you'll be narrating each screen individually (imagine narrating individual ppt slides); with the other two the idea is to talk all the way through the movie (yet another reason for keeping them short!)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How large is the Fudd project in megabytes? A: The brief demo I did of changing the language preference in Google to Elmer Fudd ended up being a 179KB SWF file. That's one of the things I love about Flash - nice compression!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Paul said that you can't do post-capture editing in CamStudio ... can you import a CamStudio screencast into the Windows video editor for editing? A: CamStudio gives you the option to save your recording as SWF or AVI. You should indeed be able to import the latter into Windows Movie Maker. Jon Udell has some thoughts on this process here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Any plans for Adobe to offer a full-featured Mac option? A: I've heard rumors, but certainly nothing that makes me think this is imminent. Both Qarbon and Techsmith appear to be working on versions of their product for the Mac. I think Qarbon will be first to the table in early 2007.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Is screencasting part of Library 2.0? A: Ehhh, I don't think it is. Library 2.0 appears to be more about the user being able to manipulate pages in a way that suits their need(s). Allowing the patron to interact with data and web pages and the like. I think screencasting is more a delivery mechanism.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Are there copyright concerns when recording demonstrations of databases or purchased software? A: There were three questions in a row about this! Of course I have to start by pointing out that I'm not a lawyer. I can't find anything in a quick search that either expressly allows or prohibits this use, though I may be missing something. I fall back on the common sense rule, which I know is dangerous with legal issues, but I can't imaging a database vendor getting upset with a library for trying to promote the use of their product. That said, I have seen a very few number of screencasts that indicate that permission has been obtained from the vendor to create the tutorial, so if you're worried, I guess it would be best to contact the vendor for permission. I don't plan to.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Is there a clearing house type website for sharing screencasts with colleagues? The intention being that one need not create a brand new screen cast for something that is commonly used among patrons/students? A: Why yes, there is! One that I'm involved in is called ANTS, the Animated Tutorial Sharing Project. You can learn more about it here. I know Chad Boeninger is also thinking along these lines.

The Disconnects article takes a look at some of the issues we've discussed here before, namely "fundamental disconnects between the values of today's library users and the historical, core values of libraries that shaped the first generation of online information landscapes." The authors classify these disconnects into the following areas: Library Culture, Technology Disconnects, Policy Disconnects, and Opportunity Disconnects. A couple of relevant quotes: "Emerging communities of research library users have demonstrated strong preferences for exactly the kinds of networked trust-building, collaboration, resource sharing, and creativity that library technologies and policies discourage." and a reminder that "Today, Ranganathan's 'books' are a metaphor for all information accessible through libraries." Not a ton of new stuff in here if you've been thinking about these issues for a while, but lots of good stuff if you need to introduce someone to the idea.

The second article on the Embedded Librarian Program at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) spoke to me more on a practical level. The authors describe how they got themselves involved in the BlackBoard course shells for off campus courses. They reiterate how important it is that any librarian involvement be directly tied to an assignment, and offer a couple of interesting variations on the traditional threaded discussion theme. They note that the program has been successful to the point that they now have to turn away faculty requests to embed a librarian in their course. I appreciate this acknowledgment, as too few staff is the big reason I'm not able to be embedded in many courses here at the U of C. A great way to go if you've only got a few courses to support.

But then the authors went on to describe their experiments with Microsoft NetMeeting, which was a great blast from the past for me, as I wrote with a colleague about trials we did at Nova Southeastern University back in the late '90's:

Found on Laurie the Librarian's blog, announcements for the October and November ALA/ACRL PRIMO (Peer-Reviewed Instructional Material Online) sites of the month. October's is made with Adobe Breeze, and November's with Adobe Captivate.

Quick takeaways for me: I didn't realize Breeze supported ppt slide transitions as well as it does. That's the way to deliver a ppt via the web, and of course, a viable alternative to traditional screencasting packages. The Rutgers example using Captivate is really nice in that it's not just a straight screencast, but incorporates a lot of interactivity into the exercise. My favorite part is when we're doing the memory exercise and the narrator's voice appears to suddenly be speaking from very far away in the shower. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but it's a nice effect (think of the harp music you always get in a flashback scene). I also liked the fact that upon completion, students were left with a PDF takeaway of the key points of the tutorial.

I'm slowly putting together the answers to all the questions that were asked during my SirsiDynix Institute session on Screencasting last week. One person asked if I was sure that version 4 of Camtasia was out, as she had just bought version 3.x the previous week. I am sure, and told her that if she'd get back in touch, I suspected that Techsmith would comp her an upgrade if she could show them a receipt dated after the launch date of version 4. (Techsmith has not told me this, but they seem the kind of company that would be reasonable this way!)

Anyhoo, I noticed on Silke Fleischer's blog (he's the product manager for Adobe Captivate) that Adobe has an official policy on this. Basically, if you purchased version 1 of Adobe Captivate between the dates of September 5, 2006 and December 4, 2006, you're eligible for a post-announce upgrade to version 2.0. Good policy. Only thing that would make it better is if it would happen automatically for single purchases the way it does for bulk purchases.

ACRL and ARL, through the Institute on Scholarly Communication, along with SPARC are sponsoring a special joint Webcast on author rights. Julia Blixrud, Assistant Director for Public Programs of SPARC, and Trisha Davis, Rights Management Coordinator of The Ohio State University Libraries, will discuss ways authors can amend publisher copyright transfer agreements to keep key rights to journal articles. This Webcast will provide librarians with the basic information needed to educate faculty on campus before they transfer ownership of their intellectual output and help them understand the consequences and options. Increase your visibility on campus, your influence on the higher education and research environment, and become a respected local authority on this important scholarly communication issue.

* Registration is by credit card only.* ALA members and nonmembers with an existing account will need to use their login and password to register.* New users will be asked to create a user account before registering.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2006 Edublogger Awards "the independently run, community-based awards programme which recognizes and promotes excellence in the educational use of social software." There are 10 categories, one for Best library/librarian blog. There is information on the site about how to nominate ("If you post publicly, and ,
you are recognized as an edublogger for the purposes of this
competition and are eligible to nominate"). Nominations close November 30th, after which the slate of candidates will be listed for voting.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Brian Matthews has a meeting next week with Mike Murphy of Facebook, and is looking for reasons why libraries and other service units on campus belong in facebook. You may recall that several weeks ago, it appeared that Facebook was deleting the profiles of libraries, arguing that Facebook was a place for individuals. If you feel strongly that your library belongs in Facebook, please let Brian know why.

These are the links that I referenced during my Introduction to Screencasting seminar for the SirsiDynix Institute. The archived seminar will soon be available online, and when it is I'll replace this sentence with a link to it. The examples that I hope to show include:

Book Title Search from Central Michigan University's Off Campus Library Services. I really like how their screencasts are so well-integrated into the whole site. Note also how they're only showing the small section of screen that's relevant to the topic; no need to capture the entire desktop. These were done with Captivate.

How scholarly search engines differ, by the UCLA Library. Nice, clean audio. Excellent example of a topic that lends itself to "create once, show as often as necessary". Created with Camtasia Studio.

Sizer can be found here. It's a great free app for quickly resizing any application so your recordings are a consistent size. More tips can be found at Betsy Weber's Screencasting Tips for Beginners. (Betsy works for Techsmith)

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Here in Canada we have a TV tech show for the layman called DottoTech, and a couple of months ago Steve Dotto ran a brief segment about using your local Public Library to access licensed databases. That clip (about 3 minutes) is now available online. I hope you won't learn anything as a librarian from this clip, but it's nice to see this information getting out to the public from sources other than us!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

The WebBriefcase Blog has just put up a comparison of Camtasia Studio 4 and Adobe Captivate 2. The author is a long-time Captivate user, and while it seems pretty close, decides in the end to stick with Captivate rather than switch to Camtasia Studio. He found the output formats superior in Camtasia Studio, but the editing more precise in Captivate.